Mother Teresa
From NonSpiritual
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| Real Name | Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu |
| Alternative Names | Mother Teresa |
| Date of Birth | August 26, 1910 |
| Date of Death | September 5, 1997 |
| Spiritual Tradition | Roman Catholic |
| Methods | Missionary, Help for the destitute |
| Headquarters | Calcutta, India |
| Website | No website |
| Teacher | The Roman Catholic Church |
| Region | India and the rest of the world |
| Language | English, Albanian |
Contents |
Introduction
She was born in Albania. She became baptized at the age of 17 and joined the Sisters of Loreto (based in Ireland) to teach children in India. She took the vows and became a Catholic nun in 1931 while teaching at the Loreto Convent School in Calcutta.
She later became a Christian missionary in 1948, focusing herself on the poor and destitute in Calcutta. Teresa received Vatican permission on October 7, 1950 to start the diocesan congregation that would become the Missionaries of Charity.
By 2007 the Missionaries of Charity numbered approximately 450 brothers and 5,000 nuns worldwide, operating 600 missions, schools and shelters in 120 countries
Teachings
Not one with an explicit spiritual message, she generally believed in the Christian idea of salvation and thought she was doing the work of God.
Influence and Followers
She was awarded numerous prizes, including the Nobel Peace Prize, the Bharat Ratna, and the Ramon Magasasay Award.
Controversies and Criticism
Christopher Hitchens wrote a short but widely-read book on Mother Teresa: The Missionary Position. The book criticized her on several counts:
- That she received money and awards from known fraudsters and despotic regimes.
- That she was more interested in opening convents than in medical help to needy people.
- That she, throughout her life, was against measures which would raise the status of the poor (including birth control) and of women (including the right to abortion).
- That despite having millions of dollars in the banks, her organization and herself were ostentatious in exhibiting their neediness, poverty and simplicity.
Organizations and Websites
Works
Many of her letters expressing a crisis of faith were published in the book Come be my Light, edited by Brian Kolodiejchuk.
Further Reading and Links
Audio and Video
- Hell's Angel, a television program by Christopher Hitchens (available online). See Online Documentaries.
Articles
- Wikipedia Article on Mother Teresa
- Slate interview with Christopher Hitchens about his book on Mother Teresa
Blog Posts
Books
The Missionary Position
The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice is a book by Christopher Hitchens about Mother Teresa's life and work. From the controversial title (using a double entendre to refer to the actions of a celibate nun towards the people with whom she works), the book criticizes Teresa as a political opportunist who adopted the guise of a saint in order to raise money to spread an extreme and aggressive version of Catholicism.
Other Links
- Come be My Light at Amazon.com
- The Missionary Position at Wikipedia, Amazon.com
